Together We Grow  – Ka Tupu Kotāhi ai Tātou

Kia ora koutou OVS Whanau and Caregivers,

Once again our staff and tamariki have been incredibly busy over the past two weeks.  Our term is flying by!

At Ōtāika Valley we try to live by our values and our vision – Together We Grow  – Ka Tupu Kotāhi ai Tātou.  Our staff have certainly embodied that vision recently. 

This week our staff have started to learn more about the structured reading side of our literacy journey.   We observed Pam (our iDeal facilitator) teach across the school.  It was great to see the connection between the structured reading program and our existing spelling program.  

Also, last week a small team of teachers from OVS also went to One Tree Point school to learn more about geometry and our new draft maths curriculum.  It was an enlightening day with lots of new learning.  

As a staff, we are always keen to learn how best to teach our tamariki.  We are open to new ideas and ways to make sure our students learn as much as possible in their time at our kura. I’m incredibly proud of the way our teachers are taking on new initiatives and challenging themselves to change their practice. 

Ngā mihi

 

Heidi Nieddu

 

Dates for your calendar 

Term 3
27 September – Last Day of Term 3

Term 4
14 October – 1st Day of Term 4

21st – 24th October – OVS book fair in the library

24th October – Ag and flowershow day

25th October – Teacher only day – new curriculum 

28 October – Labour Day (Public Holiday)

8th November – Whole school Athletics Day at Maungakaramea. 

18th December – Last Day of Term 4

Star Spot – Celebrating Student Learning @ OVS

Every week at assembly we celebrate super OVS students, and this week’s shout out is to say a huge congratulations to our R.U.R.U award winners from the last two assemblies.

Well done to Sasha (Room 2)  and Sydney (Room 6) – our amazing RURU winners from week 6.

Week 7’s wonderful RURU recipients were Max ( Room 1) and Neve (Room 5) 

 

Cross Country

A huge congratulations to everyone who participated in last week’s cross country event at Waiotira. Despite a few nerves, it was wonderful to see our value of ‘resilience’ in action! This year’s course had a new challenge with a hill climb, but the highlight was hearing the entire school cheer each other on. The sense of support and camaraderie was truly heartwarming.

We had some intense races, and special congratulations go to those selected to compete in the Barge Park Regional Cross Country race. We were also incredibly fortunate with the weather, managing to return to school just before the rain set in!

With a quick turnaround, our qualifying runners headed to Barge Park on Wednesday. Every runner gave their best effort, and we couldn’t be prouder of their determination and performance.  Special mention needs to go to Liam and Locky who came within the top 20 out of over 120 runners!

A big thank you to all the parents who came along to support us, and a special thanks to Whaea Frances for her excellent organisation of these events!

Staff news 

You may have realised that our wonderful teacher aide, Jay, has been absent since late last term. Unfortunately, after undergoing two abdominal surgeries, Jay has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma Cancer.

As a staff, we are doing our utmost to support Jay during this challenging time. She has begun a course of chemotherapy and is facing her illness with incredible positivity and determination.

For those who would like to offer further support, Jay has a Givealittle page. If you wish to contribute, you can find the link [here].

Thank you for keeping Jay in your thoughts and for any support you can provide.

Attendance Matters: A Reminder to Our School Community

While we understand that there are many illnesses going around, we want to remind everyone of the importance of regular school attendance. Attending school consistently helps students keep up with their learning, build strong relationships, and stay engaged in their education.

Of course, if your child is unwell, it’s important to keep them home to rest and recover. If you suspect that your child may be coming down with something, please let their teacher for the day (and/or the office) know.  This way we can keep an extra vigilant eye on them while they are at school.  However, when students are healthy, being present at school is vital to their success.

Thank you for your ongoing support in ensuring that our students have the best opportunity to thrive. Let’s continue to work together to make attendance a priority!

Real time reporting

In a few weeks time, we will be posting another real time reporting update.  This time it will be handwriting.  Please take the time to make sure your Hero app is logged in and you have the notifications settings on.   Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher if you are having any issues.  

End of Season: School Netball Team Update

As the netball season comes to a close, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who made it such a successful and enjoyable experience. Our team showed great determination, teamwork, and sportsmanship throughout the season.

A special thank you goes out to Miss Lynch and Alex for their dedication and hard work in coaching and supporting the team. Their guidance has been invaluable, and we appreciate all the time and effort they put in.

Congratulations to our netball team on a fantastic season! We look forward to seeing everyone back on the court next year.

Basketball News from Darcie

It’s great to see that all those self-directed lunchtime games have really paid off for our students! Unfortunately, due to other work commitments, I’m not always available to help out. However, we have some exciting support coming our way—on Thursday afternoons, the big kids from Maungakaramea, who have yet to lose a basketball game in their competition (whoop whoop!), will be coaching our basketball team at Otaika Valley School.

Let’s keep the momentum going and make the most of this fantastic opportunity!

Darcie

Exciting News – Our School Featured on TV!

You might recall that a film crew visited our school some time ago. We’re excited to share that the program they were filming aired on TVNZ last Sunday. If you missed it, you can still catch it on TVNZ OnDemand. Just look for the Attitude program titled My Perfect Whānau: Connor Walters.

Privacy

Following our recent school trips and events, we kindly remind everyone of the importance of respecting the privacy of others. This includes refraining from taking videos or photos of children who are not your own unless you have explicit permission from the other child’s parent. Some students at our school cannot be photographed, and we ask for your cooperation in adhering to this policy. Thank you for your understanding.

Holiday Hula Hangout

For the first time ever, Mana o te Hula – The Power of Hula, a local contemporary Cook Islands and Tahitian dance group who have been performing throughout Northland since 2008, is offering a 2 day Holiday Hula Hang Out at Otaika Valley School for 20 children aged 7 – 11 years old. Details are below:

• Children will learn the fundamentals of hula and learn a dance to perform for their parents at the conclusion of the 2nd day
• They will make their own ei katu (flower headband). 
• Other activities will include: watching a movie with popcorn, playing some games, reading some stories – we have the use of the school library, playground, field.  
• Children will need to bring their own lunch.

When:

• 9 – 3pm
• October 1st and 2nd
• October 8th and 9th

Cost:

• $80 for the 2 days

Next newsletter – week 9